Brother of Brothers
by DaveTheAnalyzer
Summary: Takuya and Tomoki's friendship bewilders their brothers. The secrets kept shall lead to misunderstandings that threaten to strain the brotherly bonds they treasure.
1. Warm Snow

Disclaimer: Digimon Frontier is the property of Toei and Bandai.

* * *

 **Brother of Brothers**

 **By**

 **The Analyzer**

 **Chapter 1: Warm Snow**

Shinya crouched down. The danger of someone sleeping on a raised bed was that it gave them a grand view of the room, but Takuya was too busy snoring to notice. He had an intense soccer session the day before, and was sleeping off all the spent energy. Shinya's eyes still felt itchy from insufficient rest, but the wet, slippery object in his fingers would more than make up for his tiredness.

Shinya made sure to hide behind the desk, cringing down further whenever Takuya moved in his sleep. With his other hand, Shinya creaked the closet door open as quietly as he could. He was going to have to be quick, or Takuya would know the perpetrator before the water even stopped dripping from his hair. Slowly pulling his arm back, Shinya got behind the closet door and threw the water balloon. Just as the balloon burst on Takuya's hair, Shinya swiftly shut the door. Shinya sat between a set of boots, and tried to suppress a guffaw as Takuya cried out.

Another door banged open, and Mrs. Kanbara's stern footsteps ran in.

"What happened, Takuya?"

There was a noise of disgust. "Someone threw a water balloon at me!"

"There's no one in the house beside the three of us. Your father has already left for work."

"Well, who else could – Shinya!"

Takuya's voice bellowed, and Shinya fought down laughter with all his might.

"Why do you have to suspect Shinya?" Mrs. Kanbara asked.

"Unless you're saying someone broke into our house to throw a water balloon at me, who else could it be?"

"Honestly, Takuya-"

"Did you do it?"

Shinya could almost see his mother's withering look. She sighed and turned her back.

"Very well, I'll talk to him. Be sure to get up earlier in the morning, though."

Resignedly, Mrs. Kanbara's footsteps slipped from the room. There was the thud of Takuya landing on the floor and padding over to get the clothes he threw on the chair yesterday, grumbling to himself.

"Stupid Shinya…always fooling around. If I didn't know any better, he's probably watching me right now, snickering proudly to himself."

Shinya was actually doing just that, though with both hands over his mouth and feeling like he was turning blue in the face. He was lucky Takuya was the type to at least leave his next day clothes somewhere convenient. Otherwise, Takuya would have opened the closest and Shinya would have been in deep trouble.

"And there are my shoes. Now to find my phone, and get in the shower, and – what's that?"

Shinya felt his stomach squelch as Takuya's footfalls paused somewhere in the middle of the room. As subtly as he could, Shinya felt himself, and found one of the buttons to his own pajamas had gone off. He had been aware of it coming loose in the last week or so but dismissed its importance until now. He heard the creak of Takuya suddenly getting up from the floor, ominously silent.

"That's strange." Takuya was saying. "Was Shinya in my bedroom yesterday…anyway, I'm hungry. Time for breakfast!"

Sounding oddly cheerful, Takuya got his shoes and phone, and left the room. Shinya counted thirty seconds and thirty more before slowly opening the closet. He snuck quietly to the door, made sure there was no sound outside the room, and cautiously opened the door.

There was a splat, and Shinya had water and red rubber in his hair. Shinya yelped. Takuya laughed at him.

"Your brother is smarter than he looks, Shinya." Takuya teased. "Now we're even. Next time, hide your water balloons better and ask before you throw one in my face."

Whistling cheerfully, Takuya entered the bathroom. Sourly, Shinya picked the rubber out of his hair and went to see how to dry his head.

*Sometimes having a brother sucks.* Shinya thought.

* * *

Shinya leafed through his comic with approval on the kitchen floor. His mood improved since Takuya got back at him, and he was now reading Naruto. He connected very much with the title character and thought he was cool, unlike Takuya. He was just getting to the part where Naruto and his rival got into their latest scuffle when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Takuya called.

Shinya kept this current event at the back of his mind as he continued to leaf through the comic, at least until an unfamiliar voice rang out.

"Good afternoon, Takuya-onii-chan!"

Shinya's head whipped up, staring at where the front door was, out of view. *Onii-chan?*

Comic forgotten, Shinya crept through the house until he saw his brother, shaking hands with a boy a year younger than the junior Kanbara brother. The boy was pale and his green eyes were sincere and bright.

"It's been a while, Tomoki." Takuya said.

The boy called Tomoki nodded. "Yeah. Ever since we came back, we have been so busy it was hard keep in touch."

"Now that everything's settling down, the gang could come together again." Takuya waved an arm. "C'mon, we have this cool video game we bought recently."

"Ni-chan, who are you talking to?" Shinya asked, deciding to step in.

"Ah Shinya, good timing." Takuya said. "This is Himi Tomoki, a friend I made while I was out. Tomoki, this is my brother Shinya."

"Nice to meet you." Tomoki said cheerfully. "Takuya-onii-chan has told me a lot about you."

"Why are you calling him Onii-chan?" Shinya asked.

Tomoki looked sheepish. "Because he helped me a lot when I was in trouble once…technically."

"Technically?" Shinya said suspiciously.

"Well, anyway, why don't you join us?" Tomoki said. "Takuya-onii-chan says you like video games, so it'd be fun to play with you."

Shinya felt a little stung that a complete stranger was giving him permission to use his console but since Tomoki was so nice, he decided to let it slide.

"Alright. I'll show you how it works."

He led him to the television and took out the game console, where he started to explain how each button works.

"I know this one!" Tomoki interrupted. "I used it for a while before I got a trendier one."

"Hey, are you saying mine isn't trendy?" Shinya said.

"Of course not." Tomoki said. "I was being a brat until recently and always went for the cool toys."

Far from being assuaged, Shinya was further insulted. Was Tomoki implying he was more mature than Shinya? Before he could work up a retort, the game console was started, and Tomoki and Takuya took their game controllers.

"Join us, Shinya-san!" Tomoki said.

"But we only have two game controllers." Shinya protested.

"Really?" Tomoki said. "I'll give you yours, then."

"No, I'll give you a chance to game, Shinya." Takuya said, moving away from his controller.

"No, never mind!" Shinya said sullenly.

"Shinya?"

"You two play your games." Shinya said. "I'm in the middle of finishing a comic."

Shinya left Takuya and Tomoki at the television in a foul mood. He didn't know why. Objectively, he should be thanking this Tomoki person. Takuya was an annoying big brother, acting like Shinya was a barrier to whatever he was doing, and going overboard when he wanted to fulfill his role as protective senior sibling. Now that Takuya had Tomoki to fawn over, Shinya was free to do whatever he pleased. Like read a comic without any interruptions.

This lasted for about forty seconds before his eyes glazed over, and he threw his comic down in a fit of frustration. Why couldn't he concentrate? Through the kitchen entrance, he could hear Takuya and Tomoki laughing as explosive blips came out of the television speakers. Shinya should be able to block out the sounds, but they penetrated his brain like a parasite that kept reminding its host it existed. With a sigh, he picked up the comic, and tried to concentrate on the pages.

If Shinya didn't care if Takuya ignored him for Tomoki, why did his chest feel funny?

* * *

This wasn't the only time Shinya had heard of Himi Tomoki, not by a long shot. The next day, Shinya awakened to find Takuya and Tomoki had vanished off to who knew where. Takuya didn't elaborate to Mrs. Kanbara. By the time Takuya returned, it was night and he had a contented smile on his face.

"Where were you?" Shinya asked, waiting listlessly on the couch.

"Out with my friends." Takuya replied.

He placed his hat and goggles carefully on the coat wrack. Shinya found this odd. Takuya wasn't a slob, but he had a habit of leaving his clothes flopped on chairs not too concerned if they were wrinkled or not.

"Were one of these friends Tomoki?"

"Yeah." Takuya plopped on the couch next to him. "He's going to come over again tomorrow."

"Huh."

Takuya glanced at Shinya. "Are you okay? You're acting strange."

"Nope, I'm not acting strange at all." Shinya said tonelessly.

Takuya watched Shinya closely, concern etched on his face. "You sure? You could tell your big brother about it, you know."

Instead of being comforted by the brotherly offer to help, Shinya felt that irritated twitch in his chest whenever someone gave him the option to be mushy. Shinya got off the couch, turning his back on Takuya.

"I'm growing up, Ni-chan." Shinya said. "You don't need to protect me all the time."

Before Takuya could respond, Shinya had left for his room. He sat in bed even as there were one or two quiet knocks on the door, but he didn't answer.

With the week starting, school came but that didn't stop Tomoki from coming by the Kanbara household in the afternoon. Tomoki had come by with a third game controller and invited Shinya over the first few times, but when the game turned to banter between Takuya and Tomoki, Shinya stopped joining them. After one or two more attempts to invite Shinya, they gave up. A few other of Takuya's friends came over, a cool boy with a wide range of skills in martial arts and a heavyset kid with the ability to do magic tricks. But Tomoki was the one who appeared most frequently and he didn't just stop over for video games.

Takuya and Tomoki watched their favorite cartoons, browsed the internet together, went in the backyard to play sports or horse around with the water hose. They always seemed to be having fun, and when Shinya wasn't watching them, he was hearing their laughter clearly. Sometimes, Shinya would hear them in Takuya's room, speaking too quietly to hear, but strange words and phrases like "Digimon" and "Legendary Warriors" came up. Did the pair meet at some gaming convention? Shinya didn't know, but he did know that when Tomoki was around, he became confused and angry.

"What's the matter with you, Shinya?" Mrs. Kanbara asked.

Shinya was sitting at the kitchen table. His mother puttered around, washing dishes with a worn out towel, and had been muttering to herself about her husband. Tomoki was in Takuya's room, giggling over something amusing but the room had gone quiet the last hour. If Shinya had been any older, he would have suspected naughty shenanigans afoot, but all that had been occupying his mind was the feeling of being left out when his mother talked to him.

"What do you mean?" Shinya replied.

"You have been very depressed lately. You don't play with your video games anymore, you don't go out as much…is there something wrong?"

Shinya sighed. "You could say that."

Mrs. Kanbara watched him closely. "Does that something have to do with your brother's new friend?"

"Yeah."

"I don't understand. He's such a sweet boy, it's good that Takuya's looking after him."

Shinya felt incensed. Was his mom implying Shinya wasn't sweet? He didn't try to argue. Once you got into an argument with Mrs. Kanbara, she often walked away victorious. He decided to pursue a question that had been gnawing at him for a while

"How did he meet him anyway?"

"I'm not exactly sure. When Takuya talks about his new friends, he always speaks in vague terms. The most detail I could get out of Takuya was that he met them on a train and they helped each other in some disaster that happened."

"You mean a train crash?" Shinya sat up, eyes wide.

"There were no reports of crashes on the trains Takuya claimed he took. It's really funny, though. It's like he and his friends are keeping some secret among themselves, a secret they fear would get out..."

Shinya's thoughts were swimming. Takuya was keeping a secret? Of course, Shinya had his own secrets he wouldn't even want his mother to know about, but this one sounded like a big deal. Takuya, Tomoki, and those other guys were in on something awesome, and Takuya didn't trust his younger brother with this secret. Shinya was slighted, and felt like it was time to take action.

"Thanks for the information, Mom." Shinya said, slipping out of the chair. "It was very helpful."

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Kanbara asked.

"To see Ni-chan about the truth."

"If you're sure. Just don't make too much noise."

Shinya marched up to Takuya's door, and paused to listen. There was that whispering again, and that "Digital World" phrase just jumped out. He raised a fist to knock hard, and there was a sudden silence.

"Ni-chan, I know you're in there. We need to talk now!"

There was a pause, and the sound of the door unlocking (*It was locked.* Shinya thought, incensed) followed as Takuya's annoyed face poked out.

"What is it, Shinya? We were having an important discussion."

"You two are always doing something important." Shinya replied. "I want to talk alone, just the two of us!"

Takuya looked in his room, presumably at Tomoki.

"That's alright." Tomoki's voice said. "I can wait."

Takuya nodded, and closed the door behind him. He followed Shinya to a corner where the younger brother stood, steaming.

"Well," Takuya broke the silence, "what has gotten you so mad lately?"

"Tell me how you met Tomoki."

"What?"

"How did you meet Tomoki, and all those other friends you made?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just tell me!"

Takuya looked puzzled, but did as Shinya asked. "We met on the train at Shibuya station. We got the call to some game a company was advertising, and got involved with a bit of a tussle. We got stuck in the basement, and through trying to get out without damaging anything, we got to know each other. By the time we escaped, we became quite close and have been friends ever since. There, that's how we met."

Shinya examined his brother's face. Takuya looked a bit confused and nervous, but stared right back. There was quiet.

"I think you're telling most of the truth." Shinya said slowly. "But not all of it. Can you give more details?"

"Well, you see…"

"Ni-chan!"

Takuya looked away. "I can't tell you everything. Company stuff. It's a secret."

"A secret you can't tell your own brother?"

"Well, you wouldn't believe me if I could tell you anyway."

"Try me!"

"I told you, only the six of us can know – well…Katsuharu and the others makes it ten – but anyway, I can't tell anyone else!"

"I knew it!" Shinya yelled. "I knew you liked that Tomoki boy more than me!"

"You aren't making a good case for why you should know with how immature you're being!"

"Well, if you would just explain how you met him and why you're so close to him-"

"If I had to say why I can't tell you one more time-" Takuya started, frustrated.

"You'll never play video games with me or other stuff, right?" Shinya cut in. He gritted his teeth and his fists shook. "You'll just go with that Tomoki and forget all about me. I hate him, and I hate you too, Ni-chan!"

"Is that how you think of me, Shinya-san? As your brother stealer?"

Takuya and Shinya turned. In the midst of their shouting match, they hadn't noticed Tomoki had slipped out. Tomoki watched them with sad eyes. Then he bowed lowly.

"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"Tomoki, but…" Takuya began.

"Anyway, I'll take my leave!"

Tomoki ran out of sight and Takuya went after him, distressed. Shinya stood there alone, staring at the spot where Tomoki had been. He felt a flash of regret.

*Did I really have to be that mean?* Shinya thought.

* * *

Tomoki stopped coming over, which would have been a plus, except that Takuya was now going out each afternoon to the Himi household. Shinya could be slow, but he was capable of putting two and two together. Takuya only came back in time for dinner and the few times the brothers talked, it was stilted and awkward. Takuya seemed torn between resentment to how Tomoki was treated and confused sympathy for Shinya's plight. Shinya wished his brother would stop exhibiting such complex emotions, because it wasn't helping his own guilt much.

Shinya felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. He thought it would be rewarding to finally wring out his annoyance at Takuya, and Tomoki by proxy, but instead he couldn't go an hour without that unpleasant wince around the navel. In the process, not only did Shinya hurt someone he didn't know, but Takuya wasn't hanging out with him either. In the end, Shinya's actions had only exasperated the problem, and he didn't know what to do.

Shinya rolled in his bed, stewing in anger and guilt. Takuya had again left for the afternoon, and Mr. Kanbara was working, as usual. Mrs. Kanbara was doing housework. She had knocked and tried to prod Shinya out of the room with the excuse of cleaning it, but Shinya knew she had done so four days back, and refused to budge. Mrs. Kanbara gave up with exasperation.

There was the distant ring of the doorbell, but Shinya tuned it out. He pawed at his bedcovers, digging into them with more and more intensity. If nothing happened soon, Shinya was going to burst. He just wanted this to be over. Shinya hated to admit it, but he liked Takuya and wished he would hang out with him again. But with those new friends of his, it was never going to be the same…

There was another knock on Shinya's door, and he groaned.

"Go away, Mom!"

"I'm not your mother." The voice on the other side of the door was amused. "But I know she's a pretty nice lady, and she wouldn't like that tone."

Shinya sat up. "Tomoki?"

"That's me. Can I come in?"

Shinya was so caught off-guard by this change in circumstance, that he could only answer, "Yeah, I guess."

The door was open, and Tomoki slowly entered. He looked left and right, appraising the game posters and stacks of comics as though he were entering a sacred shrine. Tomoki stopped and smiled at Shinya.

"Nice room you have here. Hey, I think I have that comic."

"Really?" Shinya glanced at the comic in question, a Rurouni Kenshin volume. "You have good taste."

"I look up to Kenshin. He's such a hero, defending people while swearing not to kill."

"Well, I think that's kind of wussie, but whatever. So why are you here?"

Tomoki grew a bit serious. "I just wanted to clear up the issue between Takuya-onii-chan and I."

"What's there to clear up?" Shinya's expression went sour. "You have some secret you're keeping from me, and I can never know."

"There's that." Tomoki nodded in acknowledgement. "That doesn't mean you aren't precious to him, though."

"Really?" Shinya said dubiously.

Tomoki nodded. "Really. Takuya-onii-chan talks a lot about you."

"I bet it's a lot of complaining."

"That's not true…well, it is actually. But it's fond complaining!"

"All he does is sing praise about you."

Tomoki lowered his head. "Oh, well. I wasn't always someone who was praiseworthy. My older brother can tell you that. However…meeting Takuya-onii-chan and the others had helped me grow as a person. We supported each other, through those trials and tribulations."

"That must make a great bond." Shinya said enviously.

"Yeah. You're worried I'm taking your brother away from you, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"I could tell."

Shinya was silent for a moment. "I was jealous of you. You and Ni-chan got along so well that I thought he didn't care about me. Sure, we annoy each other and he can be overprotective, but there are times I think he's cool. At the rate you two were settling in, I thought…"

Tomoki smiled. "Don't worry. Siblings can't be replaced. Not to mention we don't fight much and when we do, not like brother brothers. To put it in different terms, Takuya-onii-chan is kind of like the fun uncle who comes around, showers you with affection and rarely punishes you. Being friends and an honorary brother to him is different than being actual brothers."

"Ah, I think I get it." Shinya said, slowly brightening. "What you're trying to say is that being an honorary brother is special, but being an actual brother is a different kind of special."

"That's it, that's it!" Tomoki said. "You are smart, Shinya-san."

"Well, Ni-chan didn't get the intelligence genes." Shinya put his fists on his hips and stood proudly.

Tomoki laughed. "Takuya-onii-chan isn't that bad. He can be pretty smart once the chips are down."

"Until he shows it, I won't believe it." Shinya replied.

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Brothers aren't supposed to be fair."

Shinya and Tomoki laughed. When they settled down, they smiled at one another, enmity falling away. Tomoki held out a hand.

"Friends, Shinya-san?"

"Friends, Tomoki."

They shook hands, Tomoki looking thoughtful.

"You play video games, right?"

Shinya smirked. "You have a short memory. I showed you the game console when we met."

Tomoki smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, I have some games at home that you might be interested in. Would you like to see them?"

"Sure." Shinya looked intrigued.

"That would be great, especially if…"

Shinya wondered what Tomoki was trailing off about. His gaze turned inward, as though going over a script. With a nod, Tomoki continued

"You could also meet my brother. His name is Yutaka."

 **Next time…**

 **Cold Flames**


	2. Cold Flames

**Brother of Brothers**

 **by**

 **The Analyzer**

 **Chapter 2: Cold Flames**

Yutaka was chatting on the phone with his friend, planning a meeting among college mates, when Tomoki came running through the living room.

"Slow down!" Yutaka said.

"Sorry. I'm a bit late."

Tomoki slowed as he reached the door, replacing his house slippers with shoes. He waved to his parents.

"I'll be going to Takuya-onii-chan's! Be back later."

"Have fun, dear." Mrs. Himi smiled.

"I will."

Tomoki vanished out the door, and mother and father smiled at each other. Yutaka finished his call and sat down.

"It's so nice that Tomoki has a good friend to look after him." Mr. Himi said.

"I hope he isn't giving this Takuya too much trouble." Yutaka said. "You know how demanding he is."

"Don't be so hard, Yutaka." Mr. Himi.

"He hasn't been so bad lately." Mrs. Himi said. "He's become such a tiny gentlemen, it's precious."

"He hasn't asked for a lot recently." Mr. Himi said thoughtfully. "Whenever a commercial for a toy or video game comes on, he states interest but doesn't ask us to buy it. I wonder why…"

"I'll grant he has gotten better," Yutaka said, "though maybe he's demanding gifts from this friend of his."

*Good luck, Takuya.* Yutaka thought.

To tell the truth, Yutaka had noticed the changes in his little brother as well. One morning, Tomoki was the same needy, clingy boy Yutaka had always known. Then he disappeared for the day, and by the time the parents worried about where Tomoki had gone, he returned a changed boy. Tomoki gave a sudden hug to Yutaka, proclaiming that he was the best big brother ever. It had been a bizarre and embarrassing scene for Yutaka, so he had been glad when Tomoki took his affections to his parents. The next day, Tomoki insisted on doing a couple of chores.

*What's gotten into him?* Yutaka thought. *Was he trying to suck up to us? No, he's too sincere for that, even at his most bratty. Is it connected to these new friends of his?*

Yutaka wasn't entirely approving of Tomoki's new friends. He hadn't met them, but from what Tomoki said, they were all older than him – four guys and a girl. Yutaka had seen far too many people take advantage of their underclassmen to believe this was totally sincere. Still, this was Tomoki's issue.

*I don't need to take care of him.* Yutaka said. *These are his battles. I'll leave them to him.*

Well, as a bonus, Yutaka didn't have to deal with Tomoki being as much of a brat. Sure, Tomoki was out of the house most of these days, but that just gave Yutaka more peace when he stayed at home. Unless these friends presented a danger to Tomoki, Yutaka wouldn't rock the boat.

* * *

Yutaka gazed at the magazine in his bedroom. It was a clear, peaceful day, but Yutaka wasn't in the mood to go out just yet. Some instinct told him it was time to remain home, and Yutaka wasn't the sort to take walks in the morning anyway. As today was a weekend, Yutaka couldn't help noticing Tomoki also decided to stay home. From what Yutaka had observed, he seemed a bit sad and kept glancing at the clock.

*Did he have a fight with his friends?* Yutaka had thought.

However, it wasn't Yutaka's problem. Yutaka himself had fought with friends many times, and either they made up, or the friendship ended. It would probably hurt for Tomoki if it was the latter, but that was life.

Yutaka was roused by the sound of the doorbell. There was the distant creak of the front door being opened and a glad cry from Tomoki.

"You're here, Takuya-onii-chan!"

Yutaka raised his head. That boy Takuya was here? Yutaka couldn't deny he was curious about the boy that meant so much to Tomoki. Throwing his magazine away, he went to investigate.

A boy of around eleven was chatting with Tomoki. He looked friendly enough, smiling easy and gazing warmly down at Tomoki with fiery eyes. The goggles on his head caught the glare of the overhead lights, and he waved a gloved hand around.

"Nice of you to invite me over." Takuya said. "Especially after…"

Tomoki shook his head. "It's no big deal. Want me to show you around?"

"Of course."

Yutaka stepped closer. "I assume this is the Takuya you have always spoken about, Tomoki."

"Oh, Onii-chan." Tomoki said. "This is my friend, Kanbara Takuya. Takuya-onii-chan, this is my brother, Yutaka."

"Hi." Takuya raised a hand. "Tomoki has told me a lot about you."

"Has he, now?" Yutaka raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze to his brother.

Tomoki blushed. "Not anything bad, Onii-chan."

"He has good things to say about you." Takuya said.

"That is surprising." Yutaka said. "Anyway, I hope you've been treating my little brother well."

"Of course." Takuya sounded offended. "I'm a big brother. I know the danger when you mess with the younger sibling of someone."

"Do you want to join us, Onii-chan?" Tomoki asked. "We're about to play an awesome videogame Takuya-onii-chan bought. It would be fun!"

"No, thanks." Yutaka brushed a dismissive hand. "I have my own work to take care of."

"Ah, right." Tomoki said. "Oh well. I'll show you to my room, Takuya-onii-chan."

Yutaka watched Tomoki and Takuya go, observing Tomoki's sincere enthusiasm about the game and affection for Takuya, and Takuya's fond tolerance. Yutaka felt the slightest twinge of jealously. Tomoki had rarely spoken to Yutaka like that, even with his recent change in personality. Not that Yutaka cared – he wasn't going to be jealous of someone who hasn't even hit puberty – but it was strange.

*How did they meet?* Yutaka thought.

There was a distant click, and Yutaka turned his head in the direction of the sound. There was Tomoki's door, having just been locked. Yutaka tensed. Why would Tomoki lock the door? Unless he wasn't the one who locked it…

Yutaka inched quietly closer, his house slippers muffling his footsteps. He leaned his head toward the door, awaiting for the sound of muffled yelps or fists striking bone.

But nothing. He heard the digitized sounds of a video game going on, with Takuya and Tomoki exchanging amiable boasts. Yutaka shook his head. He was being paranoid. Tomoki had locked himself in his room before, to give a good cry over some slight. To have some privacy with his new friend was unusual, but not something that should really raise Yutaka's worry.

Putting his brother and Takuya out of his mind, Yutaka went back to his own thing.

* * *

Takuya became a regular visitor to the Himi household for the rest of the week. Even on schooldays, Takuya would come and game with Tomoki, or play some other games. They hung out in the living room most of the time, but they often locked themselves in Tomoki's room, gaming there or whispering in worried tones.

Yutaka wouldn't have cared for this if the hushed whispers didn't become a common occurrence. He found himself increasingly pressing his ear near the door, trying to eavesdrop. He couldn't understand everything, but words like "Legendary Warriors," "Bokomon," and "Spirits" were occasionally audible.

Yutaka had no idea what these words meant, but he looked them up on the computer. The term "Legendary Warriors" was a generic name for many heroes in anime and manga – any attempt to narrow down the search was futile. "Bokomon" wasn't shown to be a word at all, and after cruising several spiritual sites, among other places, he came across a definition for "spirits" – a slang term for a drug. Yutaka shook his head, and closed the browser. It was very unlikely that Tomoki was involved in drug trafficking.

*Tomoki, becoming a gang member? That's laughable.* Yutaka thought. *I doubt he would have the courage to even be a messanger.*

One day, Yutaka was filing through his college books, deciding what to keep or what to throw away. An annoying friend of his called up recently, and told him that any undesired books could be recycled to her used book store later that afternoon. Yutaka acquiesced so she wouldn't make a speech about preserving the environment. He was just contemplating whether to put his street culture textbook into the discard pile when two familiar voices passed by his room.

"I wish he didn't lose his temper like that."

Yutaka froze, and then made sure the textbook slipping out of his grip wouldn't thud on the floor. He listened closely.

"Don't worry, he just snapped." Tomoki said. "He's probably cooling down now."

"Still, I should teach him some manners." There was the sound of a fist punching an open palm. "If only I could get him to stop what he was doing and…"

"Maybe we should apologize."

"Apologize? Ha, if he had a problem, he should have told me honestly if he wanted more time."

"Still, I don't like fighting." Tomoki said.

"Believe me, I'm not enthusiastic about it either." Takuya said. "But you understand. We got to do what we got to do."

"Yeah, like in the Digital World." Tomoki replied.

*Again with the Digital World.* Yutaka thought.

Yutaka sat back as the talk faded, mind churning with worry. Was "Digital Worlda codename for some videogame, or something else? Judging by the conversation, it appeared to be something more unsettling. Maybe not the yakuza, but probably something as violent. Yutaka tried to tell himself he was blowing this out of proportion but the "teach him a lesson" part bothered him. Yutaka had enough of this vagueness. He was going to confront the two and at least clear up the matter. Abandoning his textbook sorting, he left his room.

He found Tomoki and Takuya gaming again, exchanging good-natured boasts as their avatars fought.

"I need to talk to the two of you." Yutaka said.

The two boys glanced at one another but paused the game all the same.

"What's up, Onii-chan?" Tomoki asked.

"You look serious." Takuya said.

"I have a reason to be serious." Yutaka sat down, folding his arms. "What is this Digital World you keep mentioning?"

Takuya and Tomoki flinched. Looking a bit pale, the pair exchanged worried glances. Yutaka waited with increasing impatience for a response.

"Well, you see…" Tomoki averted his eyes, thinking.

"It's an element in some kind of video game!" Takuya said quickly. "That's right, a video game demo that the two of us and our friends tried out a few weeks back."

Yutaka raised an eyebrow. "I see. What is this video game called?"

Again, the exchange of glances and Takuya stuttered out an answer.

"Di – Digital Frontier. Yeah, that's what it's called. Right, Tomoki?"

Tomoki nodded rapidly. "Yup!"

Yutaka looked between Tomoki and Takuya's excessively sincere expressions. It was a good story. Video game companies have done demos with children and made events out of them before, so it wasn't too hard to believe. But his lips thinned.

"You aren't telling the truth."

Tomoki flinched. "Onii-chan…"

"Why aren't you being honest?" Yutaka demanded. "Is there something you're hiding from me? Something dangerous?"

"Of course not, Onii-chan! What makes you say that?"

"You talking about fighting. 'You got to do what you got to do.' Wasn't that what Takuya said?"

"I wasn't talking about fighting fighting." Takuya protested. "I had a quarrel with my little brother Shinya, and-"

"Did it involve violence?"

"Of course not. You might play a little rough with your little brother, but you would never really hurt him!"

Yutaka examined Takuya's resentful, outraged countenance. His gaze was truthful on that front, Yutaka admitted. Takuya would protect any family, whether blood or honorary, to the last breath. He was a protective, fun big brother, and Tomoki looked up to him for that. But Takuya wasn't telling the truth about everything. Yutaka felt that sliver of jealously expand quickly, and that feeling momentarily overrode his logic.

"I don't trust you." Yutaka said. "I doubt you would keep my brother safe. I know you're part of something unsafe and I don't want Tomoki to be a part of it."

"What are you trying to say?" Takuya demanded.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Get out! Stay away from my brother!"

"Onii-chan, stop!" Tomoki said. "Takuya-onii-chan isn't dangerous. He's my best friend."

"My word is final!" Yutaka snapped. "Get out, Takuya. Out!"

Takuya looked like he was going to stand his ground. He looked angry, and prepared to fight. Yutaka wasn't too concerned, being bigger and stronger than someone who wasn't even a teenager yet. Then Takuya exchanged a look with Tomoki and sighed, relaxing. He turned around and left the house. Tomoki watched Takuya go and looked at Yutaka in concern.

"Onii-chan, what's wrong?" Tomoki said. "What has gotten into you?"

"Tomoki," Yutaka said, "don't hang out with that boy."

"Why?"

"He's dangerous, don't you know that?"

"He isn't. I can't tell you everything, but Takuya-onii-chan protected me when dangerous stuff did happen. I can say he isn't involved with the yakuza, or any sort of gang that I know of."

Yutaka turned away. "My decision is final. Please stop talking about it."

"I know you're being protective of me and I appreciate that, but you made a mistake. I hope I can make you see that soon."

With that, Tomoki slowly went to his room. Yutaka was rooted to where he stood, anger and guilt boiling in him.

*Why does he have to be like that?* Yutaka thought.

Tomoki was no longer whining whenever he didn't get what he wanted. Instead, he was going the kicked puppy route. Tomoki had gazed at Yutaka as though his reverent image of his brother had been proven brutally wrong. Yutaka hated being guilt-tripped like that. But on second thought, Yutaka suspected that Tomoki wasn't being manipulative there. Tomoki, for reasons lost to Yutaka, now looked up to the elder sibling and was disappointed with how he acted.

*This is their problem.* Yutaka thought. *If they just told me what they were talking about, then we wouldn't be here.*

True, Yutaka didn't give them much of a chance to explain but they openly said that it was a secret. They exchanged looks like members of a secretive society and were still in the process of practicing good lies. It made Yutaka feel afraid and slightly left out that his younger brother was a part of something he wasn't. And for Yutaka to basically kick Tomoki out of that society meant getting rid of the friends that made him a better person. Yutaka was surprised Tomoki didn't aim low with his comeback or let loose some high-pitched insults.

*Did I do the right thing? Was I in the right?*

Yutaka shook his head. The matter of Takuya and Tomoki's friendship was becoming more complicated than he thought. Deciding to put the issue out of his mind, Yutaka went back to going through his textbooks.

* * *

Yutaka fumbled for the keys. He tried to have his things where he would need them, but the stress of another college semester made him absentminded. He had just bought another set of books for his new classes, a set of books that weren't easy to find because the cashier misplaced them. He wasn't in a good mood when he found the keys at the bottom of his book bag. He was hoping the key to his college mate's room still worked (Yutaka was a college commuter but he hung out in his friends' dorm rooms often) when he heard a creak in the house.

Yutaka looked around the abandoned living room, dropping his book bag on the couch.

"Hello." he said aloud. "Is anyone here?"

Silence. Yutaka had been home alone before and this hadn't bothered him, but the events of yesterday set him on edge. He walked quietly toward his room, as though the creak of a wood panel would bring out a gang of menacing thugs from behind every piece of furniture. Yutaka carefully gripped his doorknob and turned, the door swinging slowly as he got a good look of his bedroom.

Someone was sitting on his bed. Takuya grinned and jerked a hand.

"Yo!"

Yutaka stared. Then slowly, he picked up a forgotten textbook from the floor and held it up like a weapon.

"What are you doing here?"

Yutaka approached, raising the textbook above his head. Takuya put up his hands hastily.

"Hey, hey, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."

Yutaka paused three-quarters from the bed. He cautiously lowered the textbook.

"Talk? A likely story."

"Hey, it's true. I'm here to explain why I'm not some hitman, like you probably think I am…and why I'm not a threat to your brother." Takuya looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, you can pat me down even, just so you would believe me."

Takuya stood and put his arms out, gazing sincerely at Yutaka. With the textbook still in one hand, Yutaka patted forward and felt Takuya for any weapons. As much as Yutaka was dubious about the boy, he steered clear of the less public areas. By the time Yutaka stepped back, he was sure Takuya was being truthful on the talking front.

"This is silly," Takuya complained, "I'm not even twelve. What makes you think I'm some sort of card carrying member of the yakuza?"

"I've heard of gangs recruiting younger." Yutaka said grimly.

"Nah, I'd be the cool older brother who lures kids into safe activities in commercials." Takuya boasted.

"Tomoki likes cool, older brothers then." Yutaka grimaced.

"Well, yeah," Takuya watched him closely, "that's the issue, isn't it?"

Yutaka shook his head. "Why would I be jealous of an eleven year old boy?"

"Why would you be paranoid about an eleven year old boy being a gangster?"

Yutaka sighed. "Alright, I admit, I was ridiculous there."

"So you are jealous of me."

"Partly. Still need an explanation for those strange allusions to fighting."

Takuya sighed. "That was…look, let's just say we're no longer in danger now, and we are better off because of the experience."

"I need more details."

"I'm sorry, I can't say anything more. You wouldn't believe me even if I told the truth, and I've got the feeling the same could be said for Shinya. Come to think of it, few would believe I was innocent if I showed up in their room suddenly, even my own friends. I wasn't thinking there. So I'm sorry about that too, Yutaka. I won't ever do that again."

Yutaka crossed his arms. "You don't have to address me so familiarly…but I accept your apology."

Takuya stared as Yutaka thought over the former's words carefully. Yutaka felt like kicking himself. How could he suspect anything of this boy? Sure, Takuya wasn't the most polite of people but children rarely were and he was kind to Tomoki. Even when Takuya was clearly bending the truth, Yutaka didn't detect any malice behind the action and was amazed the boy already learned that lying could be used for good as well. And if Takuya lied with good intentions, then…Yutaka uncrossed his arms, and looked away.

"Just tell me one thing." Yutaka said. "Did anyone die in these mysterious exploits?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Yutaka saw Takuya flinch. Takuya's eyes turned inward, clearly struggling to search for a response that wouldn't displease Yutaka.

"Let's just say," Takuya finally replied, "that many got critically hurt, but they all went out right in the end."

"That is the best answer I'm going to get out of you?" Yutaka asked.

"I'm telling the truth there, at least." Takuya said defensively.

Yutaka locked eyes with Takuya for a while, before seeing Takuya wasn't going to back down.

"Oh, alright." Yutaka said. "But if anything like this comes up again, tell me."

"Can't promise you on that." Takuya said.

Yutaka rolled his eyes. "Never mind, then. Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Back to the jealously part. Y'know, you don't need to feel that emotion."

"Oh?" Yutaka raised an eyebrow. "And who are you to tell me how I should process my emotions?"

"Because," Takuya replied, "you are his brother."

"And?"

"I might be special to Tomoki, but you're his family. Tomoki is special to me, but he couldn't replace family."

"So my brother isn't as special?"

"I'm saying he's an equally special category to family. Geez, you'd think someone who is a brother would understand that."

"What was that?" Yutaka took a step forward.

"Nothing!" Takuya stood straight, looking like an honest soldier.

"You are trying to say you and I are both equally special to Tomoki?" Yutaka asked.

"Yeah." Takuya replied, trying not to sound exasperated.

Yutaka's eyes went inward as he assessed this answer. To be frank, he spent more time with his friends or by himself than with his family. They can be too sickeningly sweet at times for Yutaka to spend too much time around. Yet if Yutaka's parents or brother were harmed in any manner, he might react protectively like he had against Takuya. He would react similarly if his friends were endangered. His friends and family were in two separate categories, yet if Yutaka was forced to choose between the two, he wouldn't know what to decide.

"You see?" Takuya said. "Two separate, yet equal categories."

"I get it." Yutaka said. "You know, for someone who hasn't even hit puberty, you can be pretty wise."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're young. Young people aren't supposed to be wise like that."

Takuya crossed his arms. "Hmph. Shows what you know!"

"Are you trying to start something?" Yutaka said.

"Maybe!"

This combative exchange elicited a laugh from Takuya, and Yutaka could barely hide his smile himself. When they settled down, they exchanged friendly looks toward each other.

"Why don't we be friends, Yutaka?" Takuya held out a hand.

"Friends?"

"Yeah. We're both big brothers who are concerned about our annoying young siblings, even if we show it in different manners. We have a person in common, and…do you play video games?"

"Some arcade games, but I have some practice on the console."

"Excellent, that's perfect!"

Yutaka raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this?"

"No, no, you won't." Takuya waved his hands. "Though there might be some annoying moments…"

"I won't listen unless you fully elaborate on what you're muttering about."

"I want you to meet my brother and bond with him over video games!"

Takuya said all of this in a rush, bowing. Yutaka watched the younger boy, digesting the information and cautiously analyzing it. When Yutaka didn't immediately answer, Takuya blinked and looked up.

"Oh, that was silly of me. I shouldn't have requested it. You probably find Tomoki annoying enough, you don't want to deal with someone like my brother. We can do something else, we can-"

"I'll do it."

Takuya gave a double take. "Come again?"

"I'll bond with this kid over video games." Yutaka raised his head. "Might as well make up for that misunderstanding. Besides, he can't be worse than Tomoki, right?"

 **Next time…**

 **Raining Bonds**


	3. Raining Bonds

**Brother of Brothers**

 **by**

 **The Analyzer**

 **Chapter 3: Raining Bonds**

Shinya gazed around, pings and electronic blips assaulting his ears. People up to their twenties were crouched around the machines muttering in elation or consternation depending upon their skill. Shinya didn't know what he was feeling as Tomoki guided him through the crowd. Shinya liked the Tomoki now, but wondered if meeting the boy's brother would be a bit much. He hardly got to know the siblings of his friends at school, since he understood that could be quite embarrassing. He befriended Tomoki in part as penance and because they did have a lot in common. A small part of Shinya did decide to go along because Shinya might embarrass Takuya in front of Tomoki with his insider brotherly knowledge. He was bemused to find Tomoki seemed to find no embarrassment in someone he knew meeting his far older brother and didn't know what purpose lay behind it.

"Does Ni-chan approve of this?" Shinya asked.

"Yeah." Tomoki said. "Takuya-onii-chan and I planned for this if both of you agreed."

"So my brother went to talk to your brother?"

"Basically. Don't worry, I'm sure he wouldn't badmouth you to Ni-chan."

"You don't know him well enough then." Shinya said. "Anyway what is this Yutaka like?"

"He goes to college." Tomoki explained. "He's kinda cool and aloof, but he was a good brother to me in retrospect. I acted pretty spoiled and thought he was just being mean until relatively recently."

"That's not right." Shinya scoffed. "Brothers should be kind and easy to manipulate."

Tomoki laughed. "That's not right! Ni-chan shows his concern through sternness and never appreciated me getting emotional when I was passionate about something. It meant I wanted to get something. I usually didn't mean to, though, it was something I did through instinct."

"It's a good instinct." Shinya said.

"Hey, being manipulative can be mean!"

Chuckling, Shinya and Tomoki eventually stopped around a pale green arcade machine near the stairs to the second floor. Pressed into the corner, no one seemed interested in the machine, so Shinya and Tomoki were free to lean against it, and wait.

"When are they supposed to come?" Shinya asked.

"Soon." Tomoki checked a nearby clock. "I told them to meet here. Takuya-onii-chan knows his way around, so he shouldn't get too lost."

"Is this brother of yours really into video games?" Shinya said.

"Not addicted to them." Tomoki said slowly. "He does go to the arcade to burn off some steam, once in a while. Though that tends to make him angrier by the time he goes home."

"He doesn't seem like a pleasant person." Shinya said.

"He is," Tomoki insisted, "even if he doesn't sound like it."

Shinya made a tolerant sound, but convinced. He hoped Tomoki was right, because otherwise he didn't want to deal with a surly college student who had better things to do than to entertain a bratty preteen.

* * *

Yutaka followed Takuya into the arcade, wondering not for the first time if he made a mistake. He was on good terms with the young boy, fiery as he was, but he wasn't sure if he should be friends with him. Yutaka was definitely dubious on befriending the even younger brother of Takuya. What he heard wasn't encouraging. He decided to fish for more details.

"What is this Shinya like?" Yutaka asked.

"Hmm? Well, he can be pretty difficult." Takuya replied. "He likes to play pranks on me and can get away with stuff with our parents that I can't. But he's sweet when he wants to be and he can be pretty fun to play with. He thought Tomoki was stealing me away from him, so we had to work on that."

"I see." Yutaka frowned. "That doesn't sound encouraging."

"He is a good brother." Takuya insisted. "If you had described Tomoki to me, I wouldn't have known that he was such a cool kid. Us brothers tend to not describe our siblings fondly."

"You're right there." Yutaka replied reluctantly. "Alright, where are they?"

"There is a green arcade machine near the stairs I used to play a lot." Takuya said. "But it's been a while since I've been here. It should be around somewhere."

Resigning himself to the possibility Takuya would lead them in circles, Yutaka fell silent. Takuya traced a smooth curve around the room, the sound of digitalized fighting and the scent of so many people in one crowded area making Yutaka claustrophobic. There was a reason Yutaka went to places like this when children were having school. Takuya seemed nervous as well, though maybe that was because he couldn't spot the green machine he mentioned.

"Do you need help?" Yutaka asked.

"I sure do." Takuya looked around, a bit sweaty. "I need to find the nearest restroom stat!"

Yutaka nearly toppled over in frustration. "Is that why you have led us in a circle?"

"Hey, when you have a bladder that's about to burst, are you talkative?" Takuya said.

"You are having no problem talking now." Yutaka pointed out.

"Just show me to the restrooms!"

Sighing, Yutaka quickly guided Takuya to those restrooms in question. Unfortunately, there was a thick crowd around them, so Takuya nearly wet his pants as he burst through the door. Yutaka leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, feeling this was going to be a long wait.

* * *

Tomoki craned his head. "Where is he?"

"Did your brother not agree?" Shinya asked.

"No, Takuya-onii-chan called before we went over, remember?" Tomoki frowned. "I've got to find him."

They had been waiting for almost half an hour. Tomoki and Shinya took turns playing on nearby arcade machines to pass the time, but they mostly lolled around the green one, scanning the crowd for the older brothers. Shinya's cautious interest was swiftly degenerating to boredom, and he wished he got himself a drink.

"You wouldn't mind staying here while I search for them, right?" Tomoki asked.

"Uh, no." Shinya said uncertainly. "You sure you won't get lost around here."

Tomoki shook his head. "No. I know how to get around tall people. You don't need to worry."

Tomoki dashed forward, squeezed himself between a pair of college students and vanished from view. Shinya blew out a breath and stood up, stretching his tired arms, and bending back his neck.

"I'm so bored."

Deciding to move his limbs a little, he circled the area, pausing every once in a while when spotting someone beat a particularly difficult game. After seeing a dude moan in defeat after his avatar got iced, he passed the bathroom, bumping into the leg of a young adult in the process.

"Please watch where you're going!" The young adult grumbled.

Shinya stopped what he was doing to gaze at the grumbler. He was a tall, surly dude, with scowling green eyes. Shinya scowled back.

"Well, it's crowded." Shinya retorted. "You can't help bumping into people."

"You could at least apologize."

"I would have if you didn't speak so rudely!"

Shinya glared and the young adult returned the look. Shinya hated guys like this, the type who started whole fights just because someone brushed against them. He had dealt with these people more than once, and it was only with the intervention of Takuya that such altercations didn't become violent. This guy didn't look like the violent type, but he was a person Shinya didn't want to get to know better.

The young man sighed, putting a hand over his face. "Alright, I shouldn't have snapped. Crowds like this don't do me any favors, if you know what I mean. You're just the unlucky one that brought my temper out."

Shinya looked away. "I guess I should have been more careful too, if you want to hear that."

There was silence. The young man looked Shinya up and down, as though judging his character.

"Why don't we play a game?"

Shinya stared. "What, you feel sorry for me?"

"It's an apology for being rude." The young man said impatiently. "Are you going to accept it?"

Shinya thought about it, and nodded. It couldn't hurt. He would play a quick game with this young man and get back to Tomoki to wait for Takuya and Yutaka. Though it was a bit strange to do this with someone Shinya barely knew. They accommodated both consoles of a violently scarlet arcade machine, and started up the game.

"So what are you doing here alone?" The young man said, his ninja avatar already on the attack.

"Hanging out." Shinya replied, jerking the controls so his muscular character would punch furiously.

"Don't you young people usually hang out in groups?"

"Hmph. Well, if you must know, I'm hanging out with a new friend I made."

"Oh?" The ninja avatar got in a few good licks before the young man continued. "What a coincidence. I'm here because of a new friend I was introduced to as well. What are the odds?"

"Yeah." Shinya's button mashing increased. "What are the odds I'm going to kick your wussie butt!"

A grunt of amusement. "I don't think so."

With a few smooth moves, the ninja avatar defeated Shinya's and the screen was filled with a jeering message toward the loser. Shinya slammed the controls box, groaning in frustration.

"I lost! You tricked me, you distracted me with talking."

The young man leaned into view, eyebrow raised. "I was being conversational. Don't you do that with people you play against?"

Shinya gazed down in embarrassment. "Sometimes…though I was distracted!"

"It's not just that…you're all punch and no strategy."

"What?"

"Well, you do have a strategy and that is beating the enemy in the quickest and most brutal manner possible. That might be able to work with average players, but experienced ones will be able to beat you easily."

Shinya glared. "And I suppose someone experienced like yourself can teach me to be better."

"If you cut the resentment nonsense."

Shinya remained silent. Probably expecting this as the answer, the young man moved to the other side and leaned over, pressing a button for single-player mode.

"Alright, start with a low attack." The young man said.

Shinya did so, low punching the ninja. "I don't understand how this is supposed to help. It's not giving him any damage."

"Is your life bar healthy?"

Shinya chanced a glimpse at the bar in the upper right corner. He was sustaining a bit of damage but it was far from the swift drop his duel with the young man produced. Shinya steadily ate away at the ninja's life bar. It was going too slow for Shinya's patience and he would have given up normally, but with the young man hanging over his shoulder, he kept punching until the screen lit up, congratulating his victory. Shinya felt a pat on his shoulder.

"That was good." The young man said. "You learn quickly."

"That's because you were leaning ominously over me." Shinya replied.

"Still, not bad for a first shot." The young man looked less severe than usual. "Do you want to go again?"

Shinya glanced at the clock and cringed. "I've got to go. This friend would need me soon."

The young man looked at the clock as well. "Me too. I assume my own friend is finished emptying his bladder."

"Too much information." Shinya hopped out of the seat. "Well, see ya!"

"Remember what I taught you!"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll miss me too."

Shinya heard the young man "hmpth!" and vanish from view. Shinya shook his head, and went out searching for that green arcade machine.

"Where was that again?" Shinya said.

* * *

Tomoki was passing the bathrooms when he nearly tripped over Takuya's feet. Takuya steadied him.

"Oop, hey there." Takuya said. "You looking for me? Sorry, I had to go."

"No problem!" Tomoki looked around. "Where's Ni-chan?"

"Uh…" Takuya looked at the wall Yutaka had leaned against, but no one was there. "Good question. Where did he go?"

Tomoki's eyebrows creased. "Shinya-san is probably getting bored as well. I better get to him before he gets lost here."

Before they could look for who they were escorting, Yutaka appeared, glancing at the clock.

"Sorry Takuya, Tomoki, I have to go." Yutaka said. "I promised a friend that I would go with her to some used textbook store."

"But Ni-chan-" Tomoki began.

"We can arrange this some other time." Yutaka laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Really. See you at dinner."

With that, Yutaka left. Takuya and Tomoki stood there awkwardly.

"So," Takuya said finally, "that was a bust."

"We really have to try it another time." Tomoki said. "Too bad Ni-chan didn't linger, we could have arranged a different date."

"You do that, and call me." Takuya replied. "I'll take care of my own brother now. Until then!"

"Bye!" Tomoki gave a brief wave.

Takuya waved back and disappeared into the crowd. Tomoki struggled through until he got to the fresh, less compact air of Shibuya streets. Well, compared to the inside of the arcade. Tomoki had the feeling he would feel less compacted if Yutaka and Shinya met each other, one way or another. He didn't like delaying something like this to another day now that many relationship issues have been patched up, but that can't be helped. Besides, Tomoki had the strange feeling that this day wasn't a complete waste for those two.

* * *

Later that night, Yutaka locked himself in his room. He was looking through his college syllabus again, to make sure he knew what was due when and that he wouldn't finish reading a textbook two weeks earlier than he needed to. Yutaka wanted to concentrate on that work but his mind wandered to the unfinished debt he had with Takuya and Tomoki. He thought he could sneak in that meeting with Shinya before going to the bookstore but the ensuing confusion put a stop to that. Now everyone needed to reschedule and try to repeat the process in the hopes something great would come out of it.

That annoyed Yutaka. From the sound of things, Shinya wasn't the sweetest of kids and he wanted to get it all over with. Even Tomoki at his brattiest had his charm and Yutaka could theoretically see why so many had been taken by him. But this Shinya sounded like the standard annoying little brother and even Takuya admitted how much of a pain he could be. Yutaka surmised this was part of his penance for being a pain to Tomoki and Takuya in turn but the annoyance was still present. He felt like it was going to be a waste of time.

*It'll be a pain for the both of us and then we'll leave and not think about each other again.* Yutaka thought. *I know this boy might be special in his own way but it doesn't seem likely I'll connect with him.*

At the very least, he won't have as interesting a time as he had with that boy in the arcade. He had been a bit insolent but not as irritating as Yutaka thought he would be. It had even been a bit amusing to play that game with him and correct his playing style. At least the boy expressed some appreciation for the lesson. Yutaka could only hope Shinya would have at least that level of courtesy. He wondered vaguely what the boy was up to know. Probably showing off his new skill to whatever sibling or friend he gamed with. The sibling or friend might be in for a surprise with the boy's sudden change in tactics.

The topic of video games made Yutaka suddenly aware of some interesting digitized sounds echoing outside his door. He left his room to find Tomoki playing on the living room television this time, shooting and dodging several enemy spacecrafts. The parents were sitting enjoying the show. The Himi's got a kick out of watching their sons play video games – it was like a movie, except their sons had a stake in the consequences of the fictional conflict. Yutaka got closer until he stood next to the sofa his parents occupied, observing how Tomoki coped with his fictional challengers.

"Doing okay over there?" Yutaka asked.

"Yep." Tomoki's tongue was flipped out as he worked the controls. "I decided to go for medium difficulty and it's been quite a challenge but I think I'm figuring it out."

"I see." Yutaka said. "Dodge around and feel them out. Charging in with no strategy is probably what they are programmed to want."

"Don't worry, Onii-chan. This is tougher AI but I've done enough fighting to be flexible in what I do– aha!"

Tomoki pumped a fist as his fire on the boss spacecraft led to a series of explosions and a cutscene of the player character and his allies speeding away while cheering in victory. Mr. and Mrs. Himi applauded.

"Excellent basting, Tomoki." Mrs. Himi said.

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have been able to get through that fight." Mr. Himi said.

"Heh, thanks." Tomoki rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Though I heard the next mission is more challenging."

"You can work that out." Yutaka said. "Some people need more outside initiative than others."

Tomoki looked at Yutaka curiously. "How do you mean?"

"While you were looking for Takuya's brother, I ran into some kid a bit older than you whose play style wasn't very strategic. Granted, people learn at different rates but he was cocky and I had the sense that if he hadn't taken a beaten from me he wouldn't have considered my suggestions. He was a bit of a brat but…not entirely unlikeable."

"Huh." Tomoki said thoughtfully. "That does kind of reminds me of Takuya-onii-chan's brother. He can rude but…but sometimes in a funny way and he's nice when he wants to be. I don't know about his gaming style but from what Takuya-onii-chan said, he did have some way to go."

Yutaka gave Tomoki an odd look. "When are we going to do that meeting again?"

"Tomorrow, same time." Tomoki said. "That okay with your schedule?"

"Yep." Yutaka said. "I assume I'll know this Shinya boy when I see him?"

"He kind of looks like Takuya-onii-chan," Tomoki said, "but I admit, if I bumped into him on the street, I wouldn't think much more than that he looked vaguely familiar. I mean, do we look a lot alike?"

"Enough. I've had friends see you and immediately bring up the possibility that you're my brother enough times that it has got tiresome."

Tomoki laughed. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Yutaka waved dismissively. He gripped his chin. "Interesting though…"

Tomoki titled his head. "What's interesting?"

"Never mind. Just mumbling. Anyway, I'll see you at that date."

Yutaka walked back to his room. Tomoki gazed at him curiously but the younger brother eventually returned to his video game. Yutaka's own mind was elsewhere. Tomoki had innocently brought up an intriguing possibility. Yutaka brought up the mental image of the boy he encountered and compared it to Takuya.

*Hmm…I wonder.*

It was possible but Yutaka didn't have any evidence. There were many people who looked related but were complete strangers. Takuya had been far from the only boy with fiery eyes he met, after all. This was likely a coincidence and for all Yutaka knew, this Shinya could look even more unlike Takuya than was possible. But if Yutaka's suspicions were on the mark…

*Maybe this won't be a waste of time after all.* Yutaka thought wryly.

* * *

Takuya watched in consternation as a man was made to fall to his death. Not a real man, though. In order to make up to Shinya, he was playing a fighting game with him. Takuya told him straight out that he wouldn't go easy, and Shinya whined. But when Takuya started the game, it was he who was fighting for his game proxy's life. His avatar, wearing red skintight clothes with fiery designs, was sent screaming off the floating arena. Takuya observed the screen flashing a Game Over before he turned to his brother, who was aglow with victory.

"How did you do that?" Takuya asked.

"You'll find out if you beat me." Shinya said smugly.

"No, tell me."

Shinya elbowed his brother slyly. "Afraid that I'll kick your tail again, Ni-chan?"

Takuya growled. "Alright, now you have done it. Next round, start it up."

"Alright." Shinya smiled conspiratorially.

To Takuya's dismay, Shinya continued to prove a challenge. Whenever Takuya thought he got the upper hand, Shinya would come in with that ducking and punching until Takuya's avatar was defeated. After each victory, Shinya would give that annoying knowing smile, and Takuya would demand another round. It was only when Shinya apparently let his knowledge go to his head and Takuya changed tactics that the latter made any progress. On the seventh try, Takuya's avatar sent Shinya's screaming into the heavens, and it was Takuya's turn to smile all-knowingly.

"Well, do you want to say anything?"

Shinya put the controller down, looking disgruntled. Takuya thought Shinya was going to have a temper tantrum, but he sighed and lowered his head.

"I learned the technique from this college student at the arcade. I decided to move around in order to stretch my legs and encountered him. He played with me as an apology for being rude, and taught me to go the slow and steady route. He had to go, but it wasn't a few minutes later that I was picked up by you."

"Hmm." Takuya thought carefully, a hunch gnawing at him. "What did this guy look like?"

Shinya scrunched up his face to remember. "He was tall…kind of grumpy looking, with frumpy hair. He was also pale, like he spends too much time studying to go outside. Oh, and he also has green eyes. That's what I remember most. They were stern but not entirely unfriendly and…Ni-chan?"

"It's nothing, Shinya." Takuya found himself saying. "I'll be back in a minute. Just need to make a call."

Takuya got out his cell phone and his fingers hit the key automatically, his mind busy balking at the luck Shinya had. Well, Shinya and Yutaka meeting without knowing each other wasn't exactly impossible, but it was a strange twist of fate. To make sure, he would call Tomoki in order to inform him. When Tomoki answered, Takuya decided to start vague.

"So Tomoki," Takuya said casually, "anything interesting happen today."

"Um…" Tomoki said, bemused. "Why do you ask?"

"Just roll with it."

"Alright." Tomoki paused. "Now that you mention it, Onii-chan approached while I was gaming and talked about playstyle. That was strange, since Onii-chan doesn't usually do that, but I just thought your talk with him improved his mood. What are you thinking?"

"Was this game a fighting one?"

"Hmm. He told me dodge and feel out the enemy. Don't charge in with no strategy, and all that."

Takuya nodded to himself. "There's no mistaking it."

"What?" Tomoki said blankly. "What is it you aren't mistaken on? I want to know."

"I think that Yutaka and Shinya already met." Takuya whispered. "You see, Shinya got the same advice from a college-aged stranger at the arcade. I mean, are there any other surly-looking college-aged dudes with green eyes and messy hair?"

Tomoki giggled. "Maybe, but now that you mention it…he talked about meeting someone with a boy a bit older than me, and suddenly went on about family resemblance."

"Right! It's too much of a coincidence. After all, coincidences don't just happen in our lives."

"You got that right." Tomoki hummed thoughtfully. "So our brothers have met after all. What do we do?"

"I have a plan. Shinya, at least, appears to have had a nice impression of Yutaka, so this just might not be a wasted effort. We are going back to the arcade and once we get them there..."

Takuya talked on, and Tomoki made affirming noises right until the end.

* * *

Shinya was, needless to say, confused. Like two days ago, Tomoki had brought Shinya back to the arcade to meet Yutaka but this time carefully guided Shinya's every move. Tomoki even put his fingers over Shinya's eyes if the latter looked in the wrong direction. If this was Takuya, Shinya would have called this off at once, but with Tomoki's gentle direction, he reluctantly followed along.

"Are we there yet?" Shinya complained.

"Almost." Tomoki said soothingly.

"But this is annoying."

"Takuya-onii-chan and I want this to be a surprise, so put up with this a little longer."

Shinya groaned in frustration and allowed himself to be guided into the chair of an arcade machine. It was in the middle of a set of arcade machines, so it was almost impossible to see who was on the other side.

"What am I supposed to do here?" Shinya said.

"You're going to play against my brother." Tomoki said. "Neither of you are going to talk, since it's a secret here."

"Why does this have to be a secret anyway?" Shinya said. "We're going to meet your brother and see if the two of us can be friends. It looks pretty straightforward."

Tomoki smiled, and clapped his hands. "Just trust me. Be silent, and wait until you are finished playing."

Shinya put up with it. He heard his brother seating this Yutaka on the other side and speak soothingly to him. He didn't hear Yutaka say a word, which just made Shinya want to stand on the chair and peak over to see what all the fuss was about. Soon, everything was set up.

"Alright, start up you two!" Takuya's voice encouraged.

"Do your best." Tomoki said.

The game began. As Shinya saw, this was a fighting game and remembering the advice of that stranger, he went for the low blows first. Yutaka seemed to be intelligent, though, since he was able to counter those blows and inflict great damage on Shinya. Shinya reverted to his old ways of fighting, all offense and little defense. In retrospect, he shouldn't have been surprised when he lost that round.

"Good job, Yutaka." Takuya said.

"Too bad, Shinya-san." Tomoki said. "Maybe you can beat him in the next round."

Shinya nodded, trying to take deep calming breaths. He had to think clearly, calmly. This Yutaka was obviously familiar with this technique, so Shinya had to think of something that built up on that. He didn't have too long to think about it, though, so he supposed he had to wing it.

Shinya deciding to avoid energy punches of his opponent through jumping, getting closer and then jumping back. He was planning on confusing Yutaka on when he would come close to strike. After the second jump, Shinya went in to do some crouched blows and went off before his avatar could get hurt. Shinya felt like a coward for doing so, but if he wanted to win, he had to swallow some of his pride.

For the next few minutes, this was how the battle went. Shinya would play a game of keep away and then run in to strike a few crucial blows. This took even longer than before, and he had to quiet his breathing in order to not be heard. Shinya could faintly hear Yutaka's low mutters, and they tinkled slight familiarity in his head. Shinya didn't pay attention to that. His opponent's life bar was very low, but so was his. Shinya was very tired, and decided to go all out.

Ducking, his avatar did a series of rapid fire punches. Shinya watched with trepidation as his opponent raised a knife to stab him, knowing that one hit would make him the loser again. But then, Yutaka's avatar fell back and let out a death cry, and Shinya's eyes were assaulted with multicolored lights that smugly signaled he was the winner. Filled with glee, Shinya couldn't help jumping out of his seat.

"I won!" Shinya cheered.

"That's great, Shinya-san!" Tomoki said, clapping his shoulder. "That was a good game, Ni-chan."

"Nice, Shinya!" Takuya called out. "Sorry you couldn't win, Yutaka. But nice gaming nevertheless."

Yutaka only grunted in acknowledgement, and Shinya heard the rustle of someone getting out of a chair. Tomoki took Shinya's hand.

"C'mon, I want you to meet my brother."

They went around the line of arcade machines and to where Takuya stood. He was chatting with a young man Shinya found very familiar.

"Hey, it's you." Shinya greeted. "Nice to see you again, but I'm going to meet this Yutaka Tomoki is talking about. Maybe we can talk later."

The young man gave Shinya an appraising look. "So you _are_ the Shinya my brother has talked about. You aren't as bad as I thought you were."

Shinya blinked. "Wait, now I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

Tomoki went to the side of the young man. "This is my brother, Yutaka."

Shinya looked between the pale green-eyed Tomoki and the pale green-eyed Yutaka. He balked. "Wha – what?"

"I should have known it was you then." Yutaka said. "You acted like how Takuya described, but a bit better than I expected."

"Um…you have exceeded my expectations too." Shinya stammered, still taking this revelation in. "I thought you were a grouchy guy who wouldn't know fun if it didn't come in a textbook."

Yutaka grimaced. "You got me for the wrong man. I'm good at studying, but I don't find it fun."

"Oh well." Shinya smiled, shoving his fingers into his pockets. "That teaches me to go on first impressions."

"That is apparently the lesson of the day." Yutaka relaxed. "Do you know I mistook your brother for a yakuza member?"

"No way! Were you drinking that day?" Shinya grinned. "You're probably legal with how old you are."

"I wasn't drunk. I was simply paranoid."

"You were drunk with paranoia, you were drunk with paranoia." Shinya sing-songed.

"I see you take your cheekiness from your brother." Yutaka said, annoyed.

"And I see why Tomoki has to be sweetness and light all the time, with a brother like you." Shinya replied.

The two glared at one another. Takuya glanced between them, and jumped in the middle.

"Hey, hey, don't fight now." Takuya said. "Geez, you two are like brothers yourselves."

"Yeah, it's really weird." Tomoki piped up. "You're kind of like brothers of brothers now."

"I didn't think about that." Takuya replied. "Good phrase, Tomoki."

Shinya and Yutaka glanced incredulously at Takuya and Tomoki.

"Are you kidding?" Shinya said. "That was weak!"

Yutaka shook his head. "I think you can come up with something better than that, brother."

Tomoki shrugged. "I guess you're right."

"What, do you think you can come up with better?" Takuya said, not backing down.

Shinya shared a glance with Yutaka. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, disturbingly enough." Yutaka replied.

"Then let's do it." Shinya said.

"What are you two on about?" Takuya said.

Before Takuya knew it, Shinya and Yutaka were on either side of him. They grabbed him by the arm and frog-marched him to the nearest fountain in the arcade. Yutaka nodded to Shinya, who only too gladly turned the fountain on. Takuya sputtered as his face was hit by a jet of cold water.

"Ack – stop – argh!" Takuya said.

The pair did stop and released Takuya.

"I thought he needed to cool down a little." Yutaka said.

"I was trying to do that a couple weeks back." Shinya said. "Now we're the Cool Brothers."

Yutaka grunted. "Still a weak name but the opportunity to do this was too much to pass us."

Panting and wet, Takuya glared ominously.

"Oh, now you've done it." Tomoki said. "You have awakened his fiery spirit."

"That doesn't sound good." Yutaka said dryly. "Thought that would be cooled off by our trick. Think we should run?"

Shinya, who had more to fear from his brother's wrath, nodded rapidly. "Yes!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Takuya exclaimed.

Shinya and Yutaka dodged a grab from Takuya, fleeing toward the stairs. Swearing under his breath, Takuya went after them with a laughing Tomoki behind him.

That day, these brothers elevated their bonds of friendship and all was well. Except for Takuya's hair.

 **The End**


End file.
